MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — USDA cuts at the national level are being felt locally.
- Ryan Sullivan of Sullivan Farms says that his LFPA contract made up for 25% of his 2024 business
- The cuts hit food pantries hard, Grow It Forward says they are losing around $34,000 in funding
- The $1 billion in national cuts will cut around $19 million in Wisconsin
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The USDA announced they're cutting $1 billion in funding and the impact is being felt right here in Manitowoc County. At the Sullivan Family Farm they're now bracing to lose a significant chunk of their business in 2025.
Ryan Sullivan opened his farm just more than a decade ago.
"Primarily it's just my wife Jackie and I here on the farm," he said.
Together, they grow fresh produce in greenhouses.
Starting in 2023, Sullivan had a contract to grow and provide food for local pantries. The contract was paid for by the local food purchase assistance cooperative, or LFPA. That cooperative is what the USDA cut, totaling $19 million in our state.
"I felt disappointed because Wisconsin was doing an excellent job with the program," said Sullivan.
He told me that the contract made up a quarter of his business last year and he expected a similar amount this year.
But he says his own farm was not his first concern.
"The first thing we were thinking was how are we going to continue to move food into the food pantries,” says Sullivan.
Their main purchaser is Grow It Forward in Manitowoc. It is run by Amber Daugs.
"This is an entire impact on a local food supply chain,” said Daugs.
She says that LFPA benefitted small pantries to large food banks and more than 300 farmers statewide just like the Sullivans.
Grow It Forward is losing $34,000 in this cut and they've already dropped their services from once a week to once a month.
"It looks different to actually serve our mission right now,” said Daugs. “Emotionally this is really hard, just because I know how difficult this will be for some of our clients."
Sullivan says despite the change, he's developed a network of farms and markets through the program that will keep his business going strong. But, he says he's still pledging part of his profits to pantries to help keep places like Grow It Forward alive.
